Hosea and Gomer: Snow Chain Relationships

A Peak Into Hosea’s Marriage:

1. (Hosea 1)

• Hosea marred a promiscuous woman. (Harlot/whore = Heb: zə·nū·nîm)
• Gomer means “completion” is a male or female name in Hebrew.
• Prophets acted out their assignments. Isaiah saw the throne room, Ezekiel preached to dry bones, Jonah saw thousands saved, Ezekiel saw the flying scroll and the great temple; and Hosea… he had to marry a harlot.
• Hosea 1:4, “Jezreel” means “Judgment is coming.”
• Hosea 1:6, “LoRumah” means “no mercy.”
• Hosea 1:8, “Lo-ammi” means “not my people.”
• Look at the names: Completion = The sins have reached their completion and now judgment is coming; there will be no mercy because you are not my people. (That’s Hosea’s message lived out in his people.) Hosea’s painful message is that our relationship with God is like a bad marriage. We are the unfaithful spouse who deserves judgment, not mercy.

2. Question: (Hosea 2:4-5)

• In Hosea 2 his wife returns to her life of prostitution. Her lovers bring her gifts.
• The closer you are to someone, the more you will see their sin nature.

3. (Hosea 2:6-7)

• Hosea gets desperate and does things that seem irrational to try and keep his wife.
• He plants thorns along the path to try and stop her from gong out. He builds walls and tries to make it difficult for her to leave. His thinking is not logical; he just wants his wife back.

4. Hosea’s (Hosea 2:8)

• All this time she thought her lovers were giving her gifts, it was actually Hosea leaving her gifts.
• In Hosea 3, Hosea goes to get his wife. He pays the slave price for her (Hosea 3:2), suggesting she has gotten caught up in the slave trade.
• Each of the narrative chapters ends in a love poem. It’s interesting the love poems appear before restoration has occurred. God loved us while we were yet sinner.

God expects me to

• Colossians 3:13
• The message of Hosea is that as God forgives us, he expects us to forgive others.
• In a relationship, forgiveness is essential. To not forgive is like trying to drive in the snow without snowchains; no traction can be gained.

What unforgiveness does = Destroys.

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Jesus was the great forgiver. You cannot follow him, refuse to forgive, and then wonder why you’re not closer to the Lord.

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God ,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God , whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (NIV)